When In Rome
by acciohpfanfics14
Summary: Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy have both graduated from Hogwarts and moved on, to a place they've never been before: America? Attending university just got a whole lot more interesting for the pair. Could there be something more involved?
1. A New School

Hermione stood before the towering building. It reminded her greatly of Hogwarts, which made her heart ache with sorrow.

She was in a foreign land, the United States of America. People who heard her speak seemed awed by her, and many people inquired why she was here. Often she was forced to make up some pathetic excuse and scurry off before anything happened.

Why was she there? That was easy; she had signed up for her first year of university abroad. The Tennessee University of Magic was among the best magical universities in the wizard world, and of course, Hermione was quickly accepted with a full scholarship.

Beyond the gates she stood outside of, students scurried about, while others were seated on benches in varying places on the grounds reading or talking, playing games or just looking about. Squinting her eyes, she could see someone hurrying down the wide stone path that led from the school to the gates. She knew they were coming for her; as a foreign student, she was to be given a tour of the campus separately from the local students, so she would be helped in understanding a different culture.

"Miss Granger, I assume!" the lady cried as she waved her wand and cast the gates open. She was short and thin, with light brown hair and a smiling face. "Welcome to the Tennessee University of Magic, we're very excited to have you here."

"I'm delighted to be here," Hermione responded politely, speaking stronger than she felt; on the inside, she was squirming nervously.

"Goodness, you're even prettier in person," the lady said in passing, taking Hermione by slight surprise. "Anyways, let's get you up to the school, the other exchange students are waiting. You're not the last to arrive, dear, so don't worry," she added when Hermione looked alarmed. "I'm Professor Thorin."

They walked up to the school together, many of the other students watching them go. Hermione tried to keep her eyes ahead. She carried with her only a small beaded bag, in which she had stored her wallet, her multiple class books, her cellphone, a book for pleasure reading, several packs of wooden pencils (she had been informed that in America, they did not use quills, which had been an odd change but no completely surprising), and a few other things she thought she would need. She had cast a simple Engorgement Charm on it a million years ago, and it remained, and the bag was still in very good shape. Her other bags had been sent to her room already, along with the beautiful tawny owl she had gotten for graduating Hogwarts, Sheila. She had been glad, very glad indeed, when she found out they still used owl post here.

Professor Thorin was silent during their short trek, but spoke up when they entered the overlarge school. She pointed to a room at the top of a large golden staircase. "The others are waiting just in that room; we've got a couple from France, a small few from Africa and Asia, and a slightly surprising number of Hogwarts students."

"How many?" Hermione inquired. She had no been aware others from her school were coming, but she was not surprised whatsoever; they all wanted to escape the terrible sorrow that still lingered over the British witches and wizards.

"About seventeen," Thorin informed her. Hermione raised her eyebrows. Perhaps she knew them, and having friends wouldn't be as much of a problem as she had anticipated.

"Here we are..." Thorin murmured, pushing open the big gilded doors. She led Hermione in. "Take a seat wherever, the others will be along shortly!" And with that, she turned and left. Hermione stared around. She saw the African students sitting in a corner, not speaking. The Asians were gathered around a large table, laughing and speaking rapidly in a language she didn't know. The French were easy to pick out, with their elegant structures and poised appearances.

The Hogwarts group came as a surprise. She recognized half of them, had actually spoken to less than that. Ernie Macmillan was there, chatting animatedly to a girl Hermione didn't know. There were a few sitting off to the side that she recognized as Ravenclaws; they made up the majority of the group with about ten students. The rest were Slytherins, which made her lip curl in disgust. She scanned them slowly, her eyes lingering for too long on the last one. The shocking white-blonde hair, the cold gray eyes, the pronounced cheeks and heavy-set jaw. Draco Malfoy, a boy she never thought she'd see again.

"Hermione!" Ernie exclaimed suddenly, earning him some glares from other students. "I didn't know you were coming here!"

"Hi, Ernie," she said weakly, making her way over to them and taking the only seat left beside him. She had managed to attract the attention of Draco, who watched her now with a slightly raised brow and a wicked smirk.

"How are you?" he asked excitedly, smiling. Before she could speak, though, he swept on. "I had no idea you'd be coming here too! Did you know that this school has the largest foreign exchange program _in America_? How awesome is that?"

"Pretty awesome, I'd say," a voice said from behind Hermione; she whipped around to see Draco leaning over her, the smirk even wider than before.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ernie said with a glare; even kind (but talkative) Ernie had a thing against Draco. Hardly surprising; he gave prat a whole new meaning.

"Oh, not very friendly!" he said, clutching his chest like he was wounded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a chat with the lady here."

"I don't want to speak with the likes of you, _Draco_," Hermione retorted coldly.

"Oh, come now, don't you remember that I'm on your side now?" Draco drawled, seating himself on the arm of Hermione's chair, causing her to wrinkle her nose. "I helped out in the war, didn't I?"

"Barely, and towards the very end of it!" she hissed back.

"It was still helping!" he differed, actually sounding a little upset by her refusals. Hermione peered up at him with narrowed eyes. Why was he trying to speak with her? They'd never spoken at Hogwarts, except to exchange insults and, once, in their third year, a swift punch to his face. He smiled, the first genuine smile she'd ever seen on him; _It actually makes him kind of attractive_ she admitted to herself grudgingly.

Wait – what was she thinking?

Before she had time to ponder on her revelation, the door swung open and Professor Thorin returned, with three girls standing behind her, the final exchange students.

After ushering the girls inside and they went to go sit with the Beauxbatons girls, some squealing, Thorin clapped her hands and smiled. "Hello, you all! Now that we're all here, we can really get started! I want to say welcome again to our humble school, and I hope you all are prepared for a year of learning and fun!" Her grin widened. "Now let's get on with that tour, shall we?"

Hermione sat down slowly on her bed, her mouth creased slightly. Her first day had gone well; they had been introduced to all the professors and they all seemed likable enough. She had asked many questions along with tour, to the joy of Thorin and the annoyance of everyone else.

Her roommate, an American witch named June, had gone to take a shower in the co-ed (shocking!) bathroom down the hall, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.

_Tap! Tap! _A familiar elegant barn owl was hitting his beak lightly on her window, a letter attached to his clawed feet. Excited, she hurried to the window and pushed it open to allow Olly inside.

"Harry's sent a letter already, has he?" Hermione said, smiling. She took the letter, gave Olly a treat, and watched him fly out the window before ripping the envelope open and reading Harry's words hungrily.

_Dear Hermione,_

_ Hello! It's quite early here. How is America treating you? Is there an overabundance of overweight people waddling around? People asking you about your accent? I hear some Americans are very into everything British, it's flattering and creepy at the same time._

_ Ron and I have been at the university here in London for only an hour and already people have been bugging us about the war. I mean, it happened only a few months ago, can't they learn about it from someone else? We've already had a few girls at our door trying to get in, but we always turn 'em away (though it's not a surprise that they come, we are pretty dang attractive). Ginny's supposed to come visit us over Christmas, which is an unbearably long time away._

_ I don't really have a whole lot of time to write tonight, but I'm having Olly send this to you as fast as possible!_

_ You're coming back for Christmas too, right? You'd better!_

_ See you then, _

_ Harry_

Hermione smiled as she folded the letter and placed it in a small drawer in one of the two desks the college provided in dorm rooms.

"Hermione!" someone yelled outside the doors. "It's June, I forgot my key!" Snorting, Hermione got up and unlocked and opened the door to reveal a towel-covered June with dripping hair.

"Thanks," June sighed as she walked in past her. "I was getting some _funky _looks out there."

"I'll bet," Hermione laughed. "You should have taken some clothes with you."

"I would've used Accio, til I remembered that you would have the door shut, and by then I was already in the shower," she explained. "That's what I did at home." Hermione had a picture of a girl's clothing set flying down the hall and smiled.

"Where's home?" Hermione inquired, curling her legs as she sat on her bed. She closed her eyes to give June privacy to change into her Pjs.

"I'm from Georgia," June told her, rummaging in one of her dresser drawers. "Woodstock, to be exact."

"That would explain the slight accent," Hermione teased.

"You're one to talk, Britain!" June giggled. "You can open your eyes." Hermione obeyed and glanced at June's Pjs: red short-shorts and an overlarge red and white jersey. June's blonde hair was tied into a braid that hung down below her chest, still dripping at the end.

"Who's jersey is that?" Hermione asked; she worried briefly June might tire of her questions.

"My boyfriend's," she said with a smile. "Or, it was. He's a Muggle, this is his old football jersey. American football, not British," she added as an afterthought. "He gave it to me to sleep in when I was here."

"That's sweet," Hermione purred. "Does he know...?"

"Yes," June sighed. "He was very accepting. We've been dating for three years. What about you? Have you got a boyfriend?"

Hermione pondered this. She and Harry had dated briefly in their fourth year, but broke it off at the end of it. Ron had kissed her in their fifth year, and Dean Thomas had asked her out at the end of their sixth year, after he and Ginny broke up.

"No," she said after a moment.

"What about that hot blonde guy I saw you speaking with earlier?" June questioned. "I saw you when you were on your tour, and you were talking to a guy." Hermione nearly choked.

"_Draco_?" she gasped, her eyes watering. "Merlin, no. We weren't speaking, we were _arguing_." They had been, truly.

"Do you ever stop with the constant flow of questions?" he had asked her teasingly. She had frowned deeply at him.

"Is it so wrong that I'm curious about the place I'll be spending the next year in?" she had replied cooly, curling her lip at him. He had smirked back, his silver eyes flashing.

"No, but there's this incessant flow of words coming from your mouth _way _too often and it's quite annoying for some," he'd responded, with a gasp from her. It had continued on like that for nearly five minutes before Thorin told them to "shut up and pay attention."

"Huh," June said, shrugging and throwing herself onto her bed. "Well that's a shame. He was a beauty." Hermione nearly gagged.


	2. Classes

Draco was roomed with a boy from America, a tall brunette with dark green eyes and a lanky body. He reminded Draco greatly of Harry Potter, the Chosen One. This was neither good nor bad.

"Liam Reynolds," he had said when Draco entered the room, already unpacked and settled. He had posters on his side of the room, along with a few personal pictures. "Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other for a year."

"Draco Malfoy," he had greeted, shaking the hand outstretched to him. "I guess so."

On the morning of the second school day, Draco was up at five a.m. He showered in an empty co-ed bathroom, and returned to his room by six, clean and dressed, his hair dried. Liam had yet to awake, so Draco sat on his bed and just looked around.

Soon the small alarm clock on Liam's bedside table honked a greeting, and Liam bolted up in bed.

"Morning," Draco said, waving. Liam stared at him.

"How do you do it?" he asked groggily, forcing himself to his feet. Draco shrugged and leaned back on his pillows.

"Dunno. Get ready, breakfast is at eight, and it's seven-thirty now." Liam nodded and went about getting ready quickly.

"Ready?" Draco said as he waiting by the door.

"Ready, Freddie." Draco raised an eyebrow at the odd phrase; his name wasn't Freddie. He decided to let it pass.

"...Fantastic. Let's get on to our breakfast, then, eh? I'm starving." Draco led the way from the dorm.

Breakfast was served in a large dining hall, which was, luckily, directly beside Draco and Liam's dorm. They walked there together, talking and joking, getting approving looks from the few girls they passed.

They attained a table easily enough, taking it right after its previous inhabitants left. House-Elves were scurrying about, carrying trays of food and drinks back and forth from the kitchens. Draco thought absently that Hermione would be very upset about this indeed.

"What would you like?" one small female House-Elf asked Liam first, bouncing on the balls of her small feet.

"I'd like four pancakes, with five strips of bacon, coffee, and this morning's newspaper," she told her clearly, leaning back. The elf nodded and looked to Draco.

"Er, same as him" Draco said, still unsure of the American breakfast foods. "But instead of this country's paper, is there any way I could get a copy of the English paper?" The elf bobbed her head and left quickly.

Looking around, Draco looked at the door in time to see Hermione and pretty blonde girl enter the dining hall. Hermione's hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a good style for her; wait, what?

"I'll be back in a second," Draco told Liam distractedly, who nodded, holding the paper that had been brought to him.

"Mind if I sit, ladies?" Draco leaned over Hermione's chair and smirked. She whipped around, her eyebrows furrowed, while her friend's went up. He sat before they could disagree. "Thanks."

"Well, well," the girl said, leaning towards him. "You must be Draco. Odd name, isn't it? I'm June, Hermione's roommate." June obviously was very outgoing. Draco looked taken aback for a moment before he regained composure.

"I suppose Granger here's told you all about how much of a prat I am, hasn't she?" he said smoothly.

"You English and your weird slang," June snorted. "I'll leave you two to it then, I see a friend over there." She got up and shouted a girl's name, then hurried off with a light pat to Hermione's head. "Luck." Hermione shot daggers at her back.

"Interesting friend," Draco laughed, crossing his legs. Hermione looked back at him, her eyes slits.

"Why do you always show up when I don't want you around?" Hermione growled. "Which is always, in case you were wondering."

"Simple," he replied. "I was made to pester you until you croak." She sneered at him, her eyes glowing.

"You're hilarious."

"I know."

"And incorrigible."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Well fine."

She let out a soft scream and glowered at him.

"Could you just go?" she pleaded. "You're ruining my day already, and it's only breakfast." He raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine, I'll leave," he said, getting up. "But expect me back later." He tapped her head as he passed too, in a mocking way. "See ya, Granger." She pushed his hand off with a "Hey!" Draco just laughed and walked back to Liam, who was gawking at him. An interesting year awaited them, indeed.

Draco and Liam left breakfast feeling very satisfied.

"What's your first class?" Liam asked Draco, looking at his schedule. Draco copied him, wincing.

"Muggle Studies," he said, frowning. "I don't really remember why I chose this one but I guess there's no going back."

"That's harsh, dude," Liam snorted, slapping Draco's shoulder. "I got some kind of Accelerated Charms. Should be easy enough." They parted ways, and Draco made his way across the expansive campus, pushing through crowds of students easily. He see the girl that had been with Hermione earlier, June, watching him apprehensively from a bench, her eyebrow cocked. He winked at her and smiled evilly, and she scoffed and looked away. Draco shrugged; he could make up for it later, if he wanted.

"Welcome to Muggle Studies!" a tall lady in a skinny dress said as he approached the small building that housed the Muggle Studies classrooms. "In you go, we'll be starting soon!" Draco tried to smile and went in past her. He was disappointed.

The room was very, very simple; there was tables spread out, of course. On the walls hung some plastic looking devices with long cords, and large flat screens, both of which he recognized but could not place. There were large radios sitting on the counters around the classroom, something he finally recognized. There were some screens with long, thin pads with buttons attached to them, as well.

"Really, Draco?" Hermione's voice said, jerking him out of his examination of the weird Muggle objects. "You even had to take Muggle Studies? You _hate _Muggles." This earned him a few glares; Hermione's voice carried.

"Ah, ha! Funny, Hermione, you know I love Muggles!" he said loudly, but it was enough to appease the others. He leaned toward her, standing over her chair. "You need to be careful what you say, or you're going to end up getting me in trouble." She stuck her tongue out at him and he smirked.

"Take a seat, sir!" the teacher crowed as she closed the classroom door; he looked around, only to realize the only seat available was beside Granger. Sighing through his teeth, he slid into his new seat, his neighbor scowling at him deeply.

"I'm as happy as you are," he muttered, setting his wand on the table.

"Welcome to all of you!" the professor said. "My name's Professor Smith, and I know we're all going to be great friends!" She smiled around at them all. "This year, we'll be learned about the more technological parts of the Muggle world." She said this in a slightly awed voice, as she picked up one of the plastic devices. "Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Hermione hand, of course, shot up. "Ah! Miss...?"

"Granger. That's a mobile telephone; Muggles use it to communicate across long distances, almost similar to Floo Powder or Patronuses." Smith nodded, delighted.

"Very good!" she cheered. "How are you so versed in what this is, Miss Granger?" Hermione blushed a bit, while Draco grinned.

"Well, I took Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, my school," she explained carefully. "And, well, I'm a Muggle-born, so I've been around this stuff my whole life, mostly."

"Fantastic!" Smith said, smiling. "I didn't even think to ask; are there any other Muggle-borns here?" A few hands went up: one girl with dark brown hair and large blue eyes; two identical boys sitting quietly in the back, with thin lips and similarly styled blonde hair; and another boy with thick red hair and a quirky grin, beneath thick rimmed glasses. "Interesting. So I'll expect a lot from all of you!" The were slight grumblings at this. "Now, let's begin our covering of the History of the Telephone!"


	3. Out to Lunch

"Draco!" Hermione called, hurrying up to catch up with the blonde's extreme pace. Upon hearing his name, Draco slowed down but didn't turn.

"Yes, Granger?" he said carefully without looking at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to talk to you, so could you look at me?" Sighing, he turned to her, the two of them halted in the middle of the sidewalk now.

"Well? What can I do for _you_?" His tone irritated her, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to ignore it.

"I was curious..." she said slowly, almost regretting called out to him. "I was wondering if you'd like to try to be, I don't know, friends of something."

"Friends?" he repeated, looking at suspiciously. "But you _hate _me."

"I know!" she exclaimed, then mentally kicked herself for saying it. "I mean, I did. I do. I don't know. But I figure, since we're going to be at the same school again, apparently sharing a class or two, it would be easier if we stopped the rivalry and became _at least _civil with one another." He tilted his head, seeming to mull it over.

"Sure, why not." He smiled, which sort of made Hermione worry, but she was careful not to show it on her face as she returned the smile. "What's your next class?"

"Erm..." She glanced down and pulled her schedule from her bag. Her nose wrinkled. "Accelerated Potions, with Professor Jacobs." Draco laughed, also consulting his paper. "What?"

"That's me as well," he snorted. "Let me see yours." He snatched it from her hand before she could respond, and she rolled her eyes. "Uh huh... yup, I see what they've done." He gave her paper back to her. "I'm relatively certain they're going to place us all with at least one other student."

"What do you mean, us all?" Hermione asked as they started walking towards the building that held Potions.

"All of us from Hogwarts, of course," he explained. "The two of us are in _all _the same classes." Hermione almost frowned.

"Really?" she said, shocked. "That's kind of stupid, if you ask me."

"Do explain," Draco laughed.

"Well, think about it. They're placing us with people we've known for a long time. The point of coming here is to get in touch with American wizards' culture, to make new friends. If we have someone we know around, we'll hang out with just them," she said. Draco nodded

"You're right, that is a bit dumb." He shoved his time-table back in his pocket. "Oh well, there's nothing we can really do about it."

"Not a thing," Hermione agreed.

Lunch came as a very welcome break. They were given three hours free, she and Draco, before their third class of the day, at 3:15.

June _and _Liam ended up being in their Potions class, so after more awkward introductions, they all decided to leave campus together to get their lunches. The students were allowed to leave the school as they pleased, a privilege that was very welcome to Draco and Hermione, though not to Liam or June.

"Here in America," June told them as they loaded into Liam's car, a Volkswagen, "or, at Salem, at least, we were allowed to leave campus for meals, dates, shopping, whatever we liked, as long as we were back in time for our classes."

"The same at my school," Liam piped in, pulling out of the gates of the school by waving his wand. "My girlfriend and I used to leave to go on dates every evening... 'til we broke up, at least." With that, he fell into a sullen silence. Draco, sitting next to him in shotgun, patted his shoulder.

"There, there, mate." Hermione glanced at June, then to Liam.

"Hogwarts was pretty strict about leaving the school," she said. "We got to leave sometimes, to visit the Wizarding village, Hogsmeade. But not nearly as often as you lot, it seems."

"Wizarding town, huh?" Liam said after a moment. "Well, we'll not be eating with wizards; we're going to go blend in with the Muggles." Draco looked surprised.

"Are we?" he asked.

"Believe it or not," Liam began, keeping a tight grip on his steering wheel. "Muggles make excellent cooks. Some of them, at least. My parents for example."

"You're a Muggle-Born?" Hermione exclaimed, unable to stop herself.

"Yeah, I am, and proud of it," he said, immediately on the defense.

"No, no, I am too!" she said excitedly. Liam smiled at her from the rear view mirror, and she smiled back, her cheeks a bit warm.

"So where're we eating, Liam?" Draco said loudly. Liam started and glanced at him.

"Have you ever had pizza before?" He took the confused look on Draco's face as a no. "Oh, man, you've missed out. I'm treating all of you to Pizza Hut, there's a small one in town."

"Oh, I love Pizza Hut!" June cried. "My boyfriend used to take me there all the time. Muggle," she explained to Liam and Draco.

"Well, good," Liam said. They all went quiet as they continued to drive. The ride to the nearest town was about thirty minutes, and silence hung over them until they arrived. "Here we go..." Liam pulled into a parking spot and climbed out, gesturing for the others to do the same.

"Wow," Draco said, running a hand through his hair. The windows were lit up with neon signs, advertising the pizza they sold within. Hermione was impressed as well, though she had eaten many a time at Muggle joints.

"Stop gawking," June said, pulling the two of them inside after Liam.

When they entered, music was the first thing they heard, playing overhead. Hermione knew that Muggles put speakers in all sorts of creative places, but it was freaking Draco out, who couldn't tell where the music came from.

They all got their pizza, June and Liam piling their plates high, while Hermione and Draco followed less enthusiastically, only getting two slices each. Liam chose a table and they all sat, no one touching their food.

"Well?" June said, watching Hermione and Draco expectantly. "Go on then! I want to see you both take your first bites." Glancing at each other, they both grabbed a slice and, at the same time, took a bite... and then another.

"Oh my god," Draco said around a mouthful. "That's the best thing I've ever had."

"Told you you'd like it," Liam smirked, eating one of his own slices.

"God, were you right," Hermione moaned, shoving the rest of the pizza into her mouth in a very unladylike manner. June grinned over at her.

"Slow down there, Speedy Sally, we're not going to take your food away," she laughed.

They joked around, eating pizza and telling jokes, for another hour or so, until they had completely stuffed themselves and decided to depart. They all loaded into the VSW and Liam drove off the lot, back towards the school.

"What're we meant to do when we get back?" Draco asked, his legs crossed comfortably and his hands on his stomach.

"I think I'll just go lay down," Hermione said, her hands also holding her stomach. The pizza had left her full to almost bloating. The rest agreed and they resumed the car ride in a peaceful silence.

When they arrived, Hermione and June dismissed themselves and started walking towards their dorm. Footsteps following them made them stop.

"Don't you two have your own dorm to go to?" June asked, looking back at the boys. Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Don't _you_?" he said. He nodded toward one of the dorm buildings in the distance. "That's our dorm, there." Hermione groaned.

"Lord, don't tell me," she sighed. "We're in the same dorm."

Laughing, and now walking together, the four walked to their shared dorm and separated only when they reached their rooms, which, oddly enough, happened to be directly across from one another.  
>"Coincidence?" Hermione snorted. "I think not." And with that, she closed the door and lay out on her bed, while June did the same.<p>

"They're actually alright," her roommate said after a moment. Hermione lifted her head up and looked over at her. "I thought you hated Draco?"

"Yeah, well... I figured I'd get over it, you know, lower school drama and all that." Hermione sighed softly. "When in Rome..."


End file.
